Come home
by viquis
Summary: Emma has saved Regina from the darkness once, but it has a price, even if it will come years later. As Emma starts to lose her memories of her family and friends, they must deal with the situation, trying not to lose themselves in the process. SwanQueen all the way. (also posted on ao3)
1. Losing myself

"Right now all that matters is that I need to be with my family, while I can be..." the blonde woman said to Rumpelstiltskin, than turned to the familiar brunette on her side and asked"...come to Granny's with me."

"No. I can't." answered Regina, still not able to look the blonde in the eyes.

"Regina… Please" said the blonde as she stepped closer to the woman, reaching for her hand.

"It's too much… I'm sorry." And with that said the former Evil Queen exited the pawn shop, tears in her eyes and heart in pieces.

It was quite unfair, after all that had happened, Regina was losing the only person who ever accepted her fully, and she was losing her to something so rare like this. For months all she could think was that there had to be a way, amnesia caused by overpowering the system with magic was more rare than any other occurrence in the magical world, but since Emma had been the first person capable of carrying both the purest and the darkest magic in her being and surviving the experience there wasn't many comparisons to make.

The first time Emma noticed something was wrong with herself was five months after their trip to the underworld, she had been forgetting things like the townspeople names, her lunch and dinner plans with her family and friends, she sometimes even forgot the way to the police station, but she just guessed it was because she wasn't sleeping very well lately, and this "cases", as she kept calling, happened once or twice a month, so she didn't pay much attention. Until one day they became more frequent.

Regina was quite concerned with Emma when she noticed the change in the blonde, since Emma and Hook had broken up, Regina became closer and closer with the blonde, they spent more time together now than Emma spent with her parents, every day they had dinner or lunch together, sometimes both, but that had become their ritual, if Henry was out at night, they would have a night for themselves, where they could drink as much as they wanted and talk about everything while watching some movies, and if their son decided to stay, they would have a family night, because that was what they had become. A family.

And well… Regina just couldn't be happier, she finally had everything she wanted, the townspeople had asked her to take her job back as mayor, her son finally forgave her and felt comfortable to show that he loved her, she had her sister back, hell, she even had Snow and Charming, she refused to say they were her family, but deep down she knew. And she had Emma, her beautiful, clumsy Emma. She was in love with the blonde, and even if they had developed a relationship where Regina knew they were best friends, the brunette couldn't help herself but think, what if they could take it to the next level? Regina had a few signs that the blonde could reciprocate her feelings, from the way she would stare at the former evil queen, the way their magic would react together, the way Emma was protective of her and most important, the way she would listen to each and every single thing Regina would tell her, about her preferences and fears, her plans and her past… But more importantly the blonde tried her hardest to make her happy, even in the small things, such as her favorite wine, her favorite kind of movie, her favorite dishes… everything.

But one day it just stopped. Well, Emma had been forgetting some of their lunches and dinners, skipped a few game nights, but Regina just imagined the blonde was spending it with her parents, or maybe a few of her other friends, until the day of her birthday. Emma had planned her last birthday, it had been a surprise, Henry and Emma had pretended the whole day they had forgotten about it, and just when she was losing hope she heard her doorbell ring, Emma was dressed in a beautiful blue dress that fit her body just perfectly and Henry looked handsome dressed in a tuxedo, they handed her a garment bag with a gorgeous red dress inside and told her to get ready, she just smiled and hurried upstairs, after she was ready they led her to the car and took her to their destiny a few miles outside town to a beautiful cabin where they had dinner prepared and set in the garden, where they could spend the whole night staring at the moon and stars. It was quite cliché, but it was special. A few hours after dinner, Henry had wished them goodnight and went inside the cabin to sleep, after all the boy was exhausted from all the preparations to the dinner. As the night went on, the two woman started lay closer and closer to each other, until their faces was finally inches apart it finally happened, they kissed and Regina just knew that this would be her favorite birthday for a long time. So as time passed, they became a couple, and when Emma just forgot her birthday this year, Regina knew something was wrong. And that was when everything started to go wrong.


	2. Birthday or Re-birthday

**6 months ago.**

It was Regina's birthday, Snow and Charming had already informed the former queen they would be throwing her a birthday party, the brunette accepted the gesture and simply smiled to herself, but she couldn't help wondering if Emma was planning anything for the after party.

The party was happening at dinner time on Granny's, and when Regina arrived she was surprised with the amount of guests that were there for her, people hugged her and wished her a happy birthday, she felt happy already but couldn't help the feeling that something was wrong, but deciding that it wasn't nothing, she simply smiled to her guests and laughed at some joke Charming had made about their past.

Later that night Henry also couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, and the fact that it had been 3 hours since the beginning of the party and Emma still hadn't showed up made him become quite certain that something must have happened. The boy looked around the room for his brunette mother and found her sitting by the window, staring at the street. Henry swore he could feel his mother's heart breaking, so he decide to take matters into his own hands. He went to his grandparents and told them he would go looking for Emma, Snow agreed and told the boy it was a good idea, but also asked David to go with him, just in case.

As they were preparing to leave, Snow stepped closer to Regina, sitting with her and starting a conversation, just to keep the brunette distracted. When Henry and Charming left, they first went to Regina's house, but found all the lights off, and seeing that Emma's bug wasn't in the driveway they became quite sure the blonde wasn't there, so they went to what they figured must have been the only other possible place she could have been, her house. When they arrived at the street, they stared at the empty garden, the house that once occupied the whole terrain wasn't there anymore, Charming stared at the scene and couldn't help but feel something in the pit of his stomach, as he stared at the boy on his side, he knew Henry was terrified.

So they went to the apartment, and there they finally found the bug, as they ascended the stairs they could feel the inevitable coming each step closer. As David started to unlock the front door Henry could feel his heartbeat increasing.

As the door opened, the first thing they saw was the blonde laying on the couch, a container of ice cream on her hand and a movie on the television.

"Emma, oh my god… You had us so worried!" Charming said, feeling quite relieved to see his daughter was safe. "Why aren't you at Regina's birthday party?"

"Nice joke David" Said the blonde, giving him a fake smile and turning to Henry. "Hey kid, wanna see a movie?"

"Mom, are you serious? Momma is waiting for you, she has been with that disappointed look for hours." Answered the boy, quite worried. He knew Emma would never let his mom down, especially on her birthday.

"What are you guys talking about? We are not even friends! And have you guys seen Mary Margaret? I have to ask her about where she put all my stuff." The blonde responded, not paying much attention Henry's and Charming's expressions. They were horrified.

"Emma, are you okay?" Asked David.

"Sure David, but you guys are acting really strange." Answered the girl. "Is something wrong?" Asked the blonde.

"Yeah… well… Emma… Could you, well, come with us?" Asked David.

"Sure thing, what are we doing? Do you need any help at the shelter?" The blonde started to get up, closing the lid in the ice cream container and storing it in the freezer.

"Emma… I haven't been working in the shelter for years…" And that was when both Henry and David realized something was wrong with Emma.

"What?" And suddenly everything went black for the blonde, as she fell into the ground neither her father or son were fast enough to catch her before she hit the ground.


	3. The (two) day(s) after

_Two days later._

"Something is wrong". That is all Emma could think as she felt the horrible headache that was consuming her. She breathed deeply and started to open her eyes, at first all the light burned her eyes, but as her vision adapted itself to the light and white became all that the blonde could see, white everywhere… Almost as if she was in the…

"Emma! You're awake! Don't try to speak. You've been out for two days, I'm going to call the doctor, okay?" Regina jolted up and out of the room before the blonde could even finish processing what was just said, not even a minute later Regina came back to the room, Doctor Whale right behind her, a few papers in hand and a fake smile on his face.

"Oh! Look who's awake. Very well Ms. Swan, can you tell me your first name?" Asked the doctor.  
"E..Emma" Answered the blonde, her voice rough.

"Do you remember what happened?" Asked the doctor.

"Uhm… I…" Emma tried to remember, but the last memory she had was from the day before Regina's birthday, when she had bought her _the_ gift. "I don't…." Answered the blonde staring at her hands.

"Can you tell me who is this?" Said the doctor pointing to the brunette on his left.

"R..Regina" Was the blonde's answered, but as she tried to look at Regina's eyes she saw the brunette look away.

"Okay… I'm going to run a few tests and I'll be back to test you memory and balance, I'll see you again in a few minutes." Answered the doctor "Here, you can eat some ice chips while you wait" Said the doctor as he handed her a small red cup filled with ice and then turned to leave the room, closing the door after himself.

After a few minutes of silence, Regina finally gathered the courage to step forward and sit on the edge of the bed, for the first time looking the blonde in the eyes she asked.

"How are you feeling?"

"I don't know… Can you tell me what happened?" said Emma.

"Yes, well… Two days ago was my birthday, and we didn't had the chance to see each other the whole day, actually nobody in town saw you during the morning or the afternoon, but at night everybody went to Granny's for my birthday party, and when you didn't show up Henry and your father went searching for you, they first went to my house, but you weren't there, then they tried you house, but well… the house wasn't there anymore… Then they finally went to the apartment and found you there, so they asked you what was going on and you reacted as if the last few years didn't happen, as if you had been in Storybrooke for a few days only."

"What?" The blonde was now frowning at the explanation she just heard. "That can't be true, I'd never forget your birthday" explained the blonde, reaching for Regina's hand. The brunette quickly stood up. "Regina… I swear."

"I know you wouldn't. But you knew something was wrong and you allowed it to reach this point! That's why I'm furious with you." Said the brunette, her voice getting louder and louder, until she stopped and looked at the blonde, she seemed so small… Regina stepped forward once again, sitting this time closer than before. "You didn't give me the chance to help you! Now you're all hurt and bruised and there is something really wrong with you. I'm scared Emma…"

"Look Regina, I know… I thought it wasn't anything, you know, stress and stuff… I'm sorry… I didn't want to worry you…" Answered the blonde, reaching for the other woman's hand "And don't be scared, I'm sure it's nothing… I'm sorry I ruined your birthday".

"Please, don't worry about it… Look Emma, any minute now Whale will be back with your test results and there is something I'd like to tell you before we discover if there is something seriously wrong." Regina inclined her body so that their foreheads were now touching, she laced their fingers and her eyes suddenly filled themselves with tears. "I love you Emma, I know we hadn't said it to each other yet, but it's important to me that even if we both know what we feel that you can hear it, I love you with everything I have, I love the way you laugh, the way you're clumsy, the way you smile, the way you stare at me sometimes when you think no one is looking, those are only a few of the reasons why I feel this way about you, but the most important reason why I love you is because I know I can trust you with my heart and you will try to protect it and keep it safe, so that is why I only have one request for you, please don't leave me in the dark anymore, I can't even phantom the possibility that maybe something could be happening to you and I wouldn't know, we're a team Emma, we share worries and truths, I'm here for you, please don't push me away".

After everything that was said by the brunette, both women were crying, their fingers still laced and foreheads still touching, a few minutes of silence passed until Emma finally felt that she was ready to speak.

"Regina, I love you too. I think I have loved you since the day I met Henry and saw what a wonderful person he had become, you're the best mom that I could've asked for my kid. You're the best partner I could ever have asked for, you're everything I ever dreamed of..." The blonde smile, her eyes still filled with tears. Emma took a deep breath and continued "And that is why I have to ask you…"

"Excuse me Ms. Swan, Ms. Mills" Said Doctor Whale, entering the room carrying with him a large folder and a book, the doctor had a worried look on his face. "I'm afraid I have terrible news…"


	4. Overpower

"So… You're telling me that I was overpowered by magic? And that is why this…episodes have been happening to me?" The blonde asked the doctor, Whale had already explained that he had tested her for every possible disease that he could think of, but she came back clean in each and every exam. As Regina started to question the doctor's ability's, Mr. Gold entered the room, carrying an old book in his hand and a smirk on his face. After the initial shock, he started explaining what was happening, informing them that with Emma's sacrifice to save the former Evil Queen, she had become the recipient of both kinds of magic, dark and light. The dark one than explained to them that, this fact alone wasn't the problem, but that no other dark one had carried both kinds of magic adding it to the fact that Emma wasn't a dark one anymore and well, had survived after all that didn't made her case very common. In fact, Rumpel wasn't able to locate other histories that had the same events. He only found a few legends.

"Yes Miss Swan. I must say I'm relived your hearing wasn't affected… yet." Answered the man.

"Well, so what do we do now? How do we deal with this?" Asked Regina looking in Rumpel's direction, but the man still stared the blonde laying in the bed.

"You will not do anything dearie, it's all up to Miss Swan here…" The dark one responded, his eyes sparkling with cruelty.

"Wait, why are you even helping me Gold? What are you gaining on this?" The blonde inquired, her tone suddenly serious, losing the scared one she had before.

"Very well observed I must say dearie, you see, your sacrifice had a toll in the magical world, the whole balance is shifted, so it is trying to fix itself, and the only way to do this is to repair the damage by erasing it." Answered the man, stepping forward and dropping the book on the edge of the bed. "Since I'm feeling quite generous, I'll say that this is the reason why you've been forgetting your life since you appeared in the town, why even your house was erased. You have a choice Miss Swan, the balance will restore itself, it may take years, but it will, and since this whole… situation is affecting my powers, I would rather we do this the fastest possible."

"Because you acquired you powers after the dagger was destroyed… after Emma sacrificed herself… they are not the same" Pointed Regina.

"Yes. So when we deal with this…" he moved his fingers as if he was showing they something. "everything will be back to normal, we all have something to gain here."

"And how will we know that what you're showing us is the best solution?" Regina asked, allowing her hands to rest on her hips.

"If you are able to find any other way, be my guest dearie. But I must admit, I'm quite impressed Miss. Swan, the only other record of something like this was in a legend from centuries ago, but fear not, it had a happy ending." Rumpel smiled wickedly as he said the last words, the whole situation was making Emma sick, but right now she had to endure it, and Gold's way was the only they had found so far. "I'll leave you the book, the queen here-" he said, turning to Regina. "-should be able to understand the answer to your problem". With that said, the man turned away and left the room, Whale that found himself quite confused followed the action and left right after the dark one, leaving only the two woman and the book in the room.

Regina still felt her heart beating quickly, her lips were pressed together and her eyes couldn't help but travel straight to the book's cover. She walked towards the book and without even looking at the blonde, she grabbed the book and left the room, leaving Emma alone and confused.


End file.
